De Villiers Rings The Changes
Andries Bekker misses out on the action due to a back injury.
South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has rung the changes ahead of Saturday’s Tri Nations clash with Australia at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
The Springboks are coming off the back of consecutive losses at the hands of New Zealand and De Villiers has shuffled his pack in an effort to reverse his side’s fortunes.
The South Africa matchday squad shows four changes to the starting XV and a further five among the replacements from the 22-man selection for last week’s 31-17 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks in Wellington.
Gio Aplon, who was on the bench for the last Test, starts in place of the suspended Jean de Villiers on the right wing while Ruan Pienaar comes in for Ricky Januarie at scrum-half.
BJ Botha starts ahead of CJ van der Linde at tighthead prop while Ryan Kankowski replaces Francois Louw on the flank.
Van der Linde drops to the bench, with other changes among the replacements seeing Flip van der Merwe, Dewald Potgieter, Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh come in.
Out
Andries Bekker misses out with a back injury while Januarie and Louw have been dropped from the matchday squad.
De Villiers explained that his changes were influenced in part by the characteristics of the Suncorp Stadium.
“Statistics show that Suncorp has the fastest playing surface in Super 14 and we have to be prepared for a faster game,” he said.
“We have two tough games behind us, but if we stick to our structures and use our opportunities I believe this team is capable of getting a result.”
South Africa: Zane Kirchner; Gio Aplon, Jaque Fourie, Wynand Oliver, Bryan Habana; Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar; Gurthro Steenkamp, John Smit (capt), BJ Botha, Danie Rossouw, Victor Matfield, Schalk Burger, Ryan Kankowski, Pierre Spies.
Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle, CJ van der Linde, Flip van der Merwe, Dewald Potgieter, Francois Hougaard, Butch James, Juan de Jongh.
Courtesy of Scrum
Peter De Villiers Shuffles His Pack
Peter de Villiers today announced his Springbok side to tackle Italy in the second Test in East London on Saturday. The match day 22 shows as many as 13 changes.
As expected, regular skipper John Smit returns to hooker to lead the Boks into battle against the Azzurri.
He has recovered from his hamstring injury and replaces Victor Matfield who has earned a deserved rest this week.
Smit is one of seven changes to the run-on side. There are a further six changes on the wood.
Schalk Burger makes a welcome return to the side of the scrum, with Francois Louw ousting Dewald Potgieter on the other flank.
The Bulls youngster takes up a place on the bench, with de Villiers opting for the Stormers’ backrow combination.
An interesting fact Cape fans may be keen on noting is that there are as many as nine Stormers players in the starting lineup – a sure Bok record.
Andries Bekker gets his first taste of Test rugby in 2010 and will be keen to link up with Bakkies Botha at lock to good effect.
As predicted by SI yesterday, Gio Aplon shifts to fullback with Jean de Villiers moving from centre to the right wing.
Exciting young midfield ace, Juan de Jong relegates Butch James to the bench and will link up with the returning Jaque Fourie.
This selection suggests De Villiers has no intention of pairing previous centre partners Jean de Villiers and Fourie in the midfield.
A number of pundits tipped Morné Steyn, Bryan Habana and Pierre Spies to feature from the bench, but De Villiers has opted to start with his experienced trio against a plucky Italian side.
BJ Botha, Danie Rossouw and Wynand Olivier have been included on the bench after not featuring in Witbank.
Matfield, Zane Kirchner, Bandise Maku, CJ van der Linde, Alistair Hargreaves, Ryan Kankowski and Bjorn Basson all drop out of this weekend’s match 22.
Overall, this side has a more solid look to it and the Boks are certain to improve on last weekend’s below-par display.
The Springboks:
15 Gio Aplon (Vodacom Stormers) – 3 caps
14 Jean de Villiers (Vodacom Western Province) – 57 caps
13 Jaque Fourie (Vodacom Stormers) – 56 caps
12 Juan de Jongh (Vodacom Stormers) – 3 caps
11 Bryan Habana (Vodacom Stormers) – 59 caps
10 Morné Steyn (Vodacom Bulls) – 14 caps
9 Ricky Januarie (Vodacom Stormers) – 43 caps
8 Pierre Spies (Vodacom Bulls) – 30 caps
7 Francois Louw (Vodacom Stormers) – 3 caps
6 Schalk Burger (Vodacom Stormers) – 56 caps
5 Andries Bekker (Vodacom Stormers) – 21 caps
4 Bakkies Botha (Vodacom Bulls) – 66 caps
3 Jannie du Plessis (Sharks) – 15 caps
2 John Smit (Sharks, captain) – 95 caps
1 Gurthrö Steenkamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 24 caps
Reserves:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps
17 BJ Botha (Ulster) – 21 caps
18 Danie Rossouw (Vodacom Bulls) – 48 caps
19 Dewald Potgieter (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps
20 Ruan Pienaar (Sharks) – 39 caps
21 Butch James (Bath) – 36 caps
22 Wynand Oliver (Vodacom Bulls) – 28 caps
Have your say: Are you happy with the Bok lineup?
By Grant Shub
Boks Behind Bafana
Peter de Villiers and Carlos Alberto Parreira: The Jersey Exchange
With less than three days to go before the FIFA World Cup 2010 kicks off in South Africa, the Springboks showed their support for Bafana Bafana at a media function in Cape Town. Here is what they had to say!
Peter de Villiers – coach
“We are 100% behind Bafana Bafana. We will show our support by attending their match against Uruguay in Pretoria next Wednesday and each member of our squad has a Bafana jersey that we will wear on the days that they’re playing matches.
“This is such a great occasion for our country. If anything, the World Cup has created or rekindled an appreciation for flags and for the identity of a country. South Africans have bought into the event wholeheartedly. We are a nation that is passionate about sport – any sport – and this is already so clear in how our people are supporting the event and a ball is yet to be kicked. I am sure it will be a major success.”
John Smit – captain
“It is not often that a Springbok Test will take a back seat to something else. But this certainly is the case with the Soccer World Cup and we gladly accept that. This event is important to South Africa. All the planning has been done and it’s time to show the world what South Africans can achieve. The thousands of foreign visitors will discover at least one secret and that is that South Africa is the best place in the world to live.
“I think Bafana Bafana will do us all proud. There is a lot of expectation and pressure but they must turn that to their advantage by drawing strength from it and channeling it through the team. We won’t get to many games but we will be following their progress very closely.”
Victor Matfield – vice-captain
“The Vuvuzelas may be loud but they create a fantastic atmosphere. When we played the Super 14 semi-final and final at Orlando Stadium in Soweto it was the best atmosphere I have ever experienced. 50 000 people cheering and blowing vuvuzelas was amazing and I think they are here to stay. It did cause a few hassles with lineout calls but definitely made it a memorable occasion!”
Bryan Habana
“I was named after two soccer players – Bryan Robson and Gary Bailey – and have been a Manchester United fan from a very young age so I have an appreciation for the game of soccer. This is a great event for our country and I’m sure that we will succeed and show the world what we can do when it comes to organising a big event like this. As for Bafana, I think they will be inspired by the home support and will achieve what they have set out to do at the tournament.”
Schalk Burger
“I am sure the guys will get together in the team room on Friday to watch Bafana Bafana play Mexico. Under normal circumstances it would be great to enjoy a few beers whilst doing this but with a big Test match to play on Saturday we will have to be happy with a few Energades! This is the biggest sporting event in the world and I’ll make an effort to watch as much of it as possible.”
With thanks to SA Rugby
Stormers Allegations Groundless
Referee Craig Joubert looks at the replay on the big screen during the Super 14 final between the Bulls and the Stormers at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
Sanzar will on Tuesday decide whether to act on statements by the Stormers’ captain Schalk Burger and coach Allister Coetzee, about the handling of the match by referee Craig Joubert, but statistics to a very large degree prove the Stormers allegations to be groundless.
The statistics of the match provided by South Africa’s refereeing boss Andre Watson, make it quite clear there was no “coaching” of the Bulls by referee Joubert at the breakdowns as alleged by Burger, who after the match said that two sets of laws were applied by Joubert.
“After reports in various newspapers and websites I looked at whether there were grounds for the allegations,” said Watson.
“According to the reports Craig Joubert allegedly “coached” the Bulls while the Stormers were simply penalised.
“With that as background, I went through every clip of the match – we have the technology to do so – and came to the following conclusions: “There were 167 rucks in the match. The Stormers took the ball in 85 times and the Bulls did so on 82 occasions. Craig (Joubert) spoke 25 times to the Stormers and 28 times to the Bulls at the breakdowns.
“On not a single occasion did he repeat any warning. He throughout warned both sides only once where it was applicable and then penalised them if the persisted.
“The Bulls were penalised seven times at the breakdowns and the Stormers twice. Every penalty but two, where he penalised immediately, came after warnings to the offending side.”
The statistics were gathered by Watson because Burger, after the game, openly said two sets of rules were applied by referee Joubert in what is widely construed as an act that comes close to accusing the referee of cheating.
Watson would not respond to whether action would be taken against the Stormers captain — and coach — for their utterances.
“That is not my place, its Sanzar’s decision.”
Sanzar’s director in South Africa, Johan Botes, said a decision whether to take the matter further will only be reached on Tuesday.
“At this stage the allegations are just hearsay. We are gathering all the facts and detail and Sanzar will take a decision tomorrow (Tuesday),” Botes said.
Brumbies flyhalf Matt Giteau was fined $5000 after critisising referee Steve Walsh’s handling of their Super 14 match against the Waratahs.
Walsh was replaced as referee for the Brumbies’ following match against the Reds after having been previously appointed to officiate in this fixture.
With thanks to timesonline.co.za
Super 14 Final: Images
The Bull's babes
Fans outside the Orlando Stadium.
The Bulls won the Super 14 league for the third time.
The Stormers lost 17-25 to the Bulls in the Super 14 Final, with the Bulls taking an early 16 -0 lead.
Jaque Fourie and Wynand Olivier.
Peter Grant
Schalk Burger congratulates Victor Matfield.
The Bulls celebrate their Super 14 win.
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